By Allan D. Francisco
I have always loved technology. I truly believe that technology plays a most significant role in improving our lives. Look at what we as a species have accomplished as far as technology is concerned. Humans have been to the moon and back; man-made vehicles have visited Mars and photographed other planets in and out our galaxy.
Even the ways humans kill each other have evolved in terms of efficiency. Thanks to technology.
Still, I could not help but feel guilty each time I use a computer or a cellular phone. For while I get connected to the rest of the world as easily as saying hello, the rest of the population have not even heard of computers and mobile phones, much less own and use one.
Too many humans live in inhumane squalor. That’s because most of humanity’s members are poor. Too many people living in this Third-World country, for example, only dream of three-meal days throughout their lives.
Much has been said about this country as being the SMS capital of the world, as if that is something to be proud of. How could that make us feel proud, knowing that millions of mobile phone subscribers waste their money on load credits so they could send each other inane rumors and recycled jokes while millions of their countrymen are rummaging through our landfills and garbage cans for their next meal?
How can we as a people ever come out of this national rut? We call ourselves the friendliest people on Earth, yet how many times we have been blind to the plight of our suffering neighbors. How can we ignore the mute cries for help of our fellowmen? That couple who calls that dirty pushcart home, those children running around barefooted and naked under the blistering heat of the sun, playing patintero with the shiny brand new cars with tinted windows, they are part of our national reality, in case you have forgotten or chose to forget.
Laptops for Poor Kids
One Laptop Per Child (OLPC), the non-profit group that emerged from Massachusetts Institute of Technology Media Laboratory co-founder Nicholas Negroponte’s quixotic campaign to give a laptop computer to millions of poor children in poor countries, plans to start mass production in September.
That is the good news, the bad news, however, are not far behind. The XO computers, designed to run an open-source operating system and applications, will be priced at a considerably higher 175 dollars, instead of the previously announced 100-dollar price tag. Still, OLPC hopes to attain the symbolic price in a couple of years.
Another bad news, although not necessarily so, is the emergence of commercial groups aiming to sell computers that are priced to compete with the XO.
Chip maker Intel, the most vociferous in denigrating the OLPC idea, has introduced the Classmate computer. Costing about 258 dollars, thousands of units of the computer have been shipped to Brazil, Mexico and Nigeria.
Computer vendors in India, meanwhile, are also planning to move into the "designed-for-the-poor" computer market. Some of them plan to introduce laptop computers that are even priced lower than the XO.
My heart goes to the OLPC. For so long, the high technology industries have ignored the IT needs of the poor. While Intel’s Classmate move reeks of crass commercialism, I choose to view it as eventually good. In the long run, poor consumers will benefit from the emergence of low-cost, affordable computers.
A reality check, however, is in order. I hate to be some sort of devil’s advocate, but I have serious doubts about the poor being able to afford Intel’s Classmate, or even the other low-priced computers. In a world where the poorest survive on less than a dollar a day, even a nuno sa punso cannot see how can they buy a 258-dollar computer.
This Plastic Doesn’t Burn
Good news for laptop users who have become paranoid about their computers suddenly catching fire courtesy of faulty batteries. Researchers from the University of Massachusetts Amherst have developed a synthetic polymer, a component used in the manufacture of plastics, that does not combust or burn.
An added benefit, especially delightful for environmentalists, is that the polymer does not need fire-resistant chemicals that can cause havoc on the ecosystem.
In the future, using electronic gadgets will come with a peaceful mind. Knowing that the gear will neither catch fire, nor would it harm the environment.
Of course, this polymer will find applications in various other industries. And who’s complaining against peace of mind for everybody?
That’s all for the meantime, folks. Join me again next time as we keep on watching IT.
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